


A Sky Full of Gods

by musiquetta



Series: Thinkfast Week [2]
Category: Young Avengers
Genre: Alternative Universe - Demigods, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-19
Updated: 2014-08-19
Packaged: 2018-02-13 18:49:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,967
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2161242
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musiquetta/pseuds/musiquetta
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>David is on the run from the monsters he only knew from the pages of mythology books. Tommy is just on the run -- and he's not alone. </p>
<p>A Percy Jackson AU.</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Sky Full of Gods

David dashes through the thick forest, branches whipping through his face. The forest behind him shakes with a roar. His feet hurt as they hit the ground, blisters and raw skin chafing against his worn shoes.

 

He doesn't know for how long he's been running. He lost count of the number of days that have passed since he left home, left his family in the hopes that his troubles leave with him.

 

His 'troubles' were currently busy tearing apart a small forest in South Carolina.

 

He presses his back against a tree to catch his breath, clutching at his breast, where his heart is hammering against his ribcage. His lungs are burning in the cold winter air and he knows he is not going to make it much longer.

 

Okay, David, think. Greek mythology. The Minotaur. Weaknesses?

 

Labyrinths! Not helpful.

 

Swords! … Did they have to be special? He couldn't remember. Stabbing might be worth a try though. He mentally curses himself for loosing his bronze dagger in that fight against the harpy.

 

It's quiet, David suddenly notices. Quieter than pretty much ever since he saw giant of a guy with one eye – cyclops, his minds provides – wielding a enormous cudgel and nobody paid him any _fucking_ mind as he bludgeoned a cow out of his way. What followed was a lot of headaches caused by parents explaining things about demigods and the Mist and a very simple but tough decision: he had to get out of there, away from them.

 

Which, a few weeks and monsters later, had led him to this forest in South Carolina where it has suddenly gone quiet.

 

David holds his breath, straining his ears to hear his current pursuer.

 

Nothing.

 

Maybe the prayers he sent to whatever Olympian was his parent were finally heard.

 

The tree behind him cracks. Bark scrapes along his back as the tree vanishes, robbing his cover. Stinking breath hits him from behind. David barely stays on his feet, flailing forward, hitting his knees on the hard roots covering the forest ground.

 

A bloodcurdling scream rips the night apart.

 

David scrambles to his feet, he doesn't look back, grits his teeth as he spurs his busted knees into action, pure fear pushing him into running though all his being is telling him he can't go on.

 

The ground shakes as slow strides take off after him, getting closer despite his best efforts. Tears sting at the edge off his eyes.

 

Fresh air hits him like a whip as he bursts out of the forest, revealing a stony cliff over a tousling river.

 

He makes a minute calculation; stay and die with certainty or jump and have a slim chance of survival.

As his feet propel him off the ground and he is rushing towards the water, he turns his head, sees the towering shape of the Minotaur lurking at the edge – he retreats. Momentary elation is squashed by the raging floods crashing over him, dragging him into the cold darkness.

 

He emerges, coughing and kicking, the straps of his backpack digging into his shoulders, tearing at him as he tries to struggle toward the shore. When he finally feels the sharp rocks of the bank digging into his palms his elbows almost give.

 

His clothes are dragging him down every step of the way as he stumbles through sparse trees. He can see lights ahead and that has to be enough of a direction for now.

 

He wakes up from sunlight dancing behind his eyelids. Roots dig into his side and grass tickles his face. The drumming in his head makes it hard to sit upright. He rubs at his aching eyes.

 

When did he fall asleep? Why did he go to sleep? What a ridiculous idea, why on earth would he go to sleep?!

 

He jumps to his feet – and sways, hands clutching for the nearest branch. That would explain why he doesn't remember going to sleep; he must have fainted. All attempts to remember when he last ate come up empty.

 

David knows he's not helpin anyone with this thought, but he isn't going to last much longer.

 

His shoulder crashes against the tree as his balance gives out. He feels nausea well up inside his stomach.

 

_You can't give up now_ , he internally screams at the part of himself that is ready to lie back down and let the next monster crossing his path finish the job. _You promised. You promised Kim you would see her again._

 

“What's that?” a rasping voice grates on his ears. “A demigod, all on his own?” His head whips around. A few – too few – feet ahead a creature eyes him curiously, split tongue slithering in and out a human mouth. Twin snake trunks slide across the grass as the monster closes in on him.

 

“How delicious.” it hisses at him, snarling. Dracanae, his brain supplies. Weirs snake-human hybrids with a human upper half.

 

He can't run; his legs wouldn't carry him far, even if he tried, even against a slithering pursuer. But he can fight – moderately well. Blindly he reaches for a branch to break off the tree he's leaning against. If he was going down, it was not without a fight, he thinks, glaring at his opponent.

 

A howl rips them both out of their staring match. Trees crack and fall as a giant creature bursts through them, long strings of black fur whipping in the wind.

 

It's a – dog? David supposes it is, it looks like a dog, though its big enough to give an elephant trouble. The ground shakes as the dog pounces on David's attacker, sinking its teeth into the torso, chewing and shaking it as if it was chewing an oversized chew toy, not a mythological monster.

 

The snake monster screeches, breathing out its life – for now – as it dissolves into gold dust.

 

If David was done before, he's well and truly screwed now. The dog turns to snarl at him, slowly prowling towards him.

 

He should revisit option A – run. A twig isn't much good most of the time bust against a tank-sized dog? It might laugh itself to death, if dogs laughed and found suicide by ridiculous attack amusing.

 

“Heel!” a voice rings out through the clearing before David gets a chance to escape. The dog stops, cocking his ears and turns, running off to where he came from. “Good boy!” the same voice exclaims, excited.

 

David is confused. He was dying and now he's alone, hand still wrapped around a twig he'd meant to break off to defend himself and – what?

 

A slim boy steps out of the trees, messy white hair blowing in the wind, the dog trailing behind him, tail wagging.

 

“Hi there!” the boy says, waving over at David, striding towards him.

 

“Uhm.” David says, eying the dog towering over them and quite a few of the young trees surrounding them. The boy laughs.

 

“Don't be scared of William.” he says, reaching up to run his fingers through the thick black fur of the dog's neck. “He's more bark then bite, unless you're a monster from Tartarus. Then he's all bite, aren't you?” The dog barks and pants, pink tongue about the size of a beach towel hanging out, saliva dripping down in thick ropes. David is not any less frightened.

 

“Once you get over the mean look he's all slobber and love, much like his namesake.” The boy laughs at that; some inside joke that goes over his head, David supposes. The dog pants, golden dusts still littering the fur of his muzzle.

 

The boy holds out his hand.

 

“Tommy, son of Hermes.” David stretches out his shivering arm to shake hands.

 

“David.” he says. The boy raises his white eyebrows at him. He has the prettiest green eyes, David notices.

 

“Don't know who your parent is?” Tommy asks, compassion lining his voice. David startles. He couldn't really remember the last time he had held a conversation. He's rusty. And a bit flustered.

 

“Uh, oh, yes, I mean, no – uh, I know. Athena. Athena is.” David stammers, blushing slightly. Tommy breaks into a grin.

 

“I figured. You look like you've been on the run for a while and it's usually only the smart ones that live so long. This is my hellhound William, by the way. Found and tamed him.” Tommy says proudly. “You can pet him if you want.”

 

A long string of slobber hangs down from William's mouth as the hellhound sits on his haunches and pants happily.

 

“I think I'll pass.” he says. Tommy laughs again and the sound makes David's heart jitter, and not in the fear-for-your-life kind of way he's gotten way too used to in the last few weeks.

 

“You'll grow to love him in no time.” Tommy says. “Everyone does. Well, everyone but Kate. That's what she says at least. She loves him too, she just still a bit miffed he ate her favourite shoes one or five times.”

 

“Uhm.” David says and he's probably not living up to the standard of an offspring of Athena right now, as far as wit and eloquency go.

 

“You're coming, right?” Tommy asks.

 

“Coming where?”

 

“Camp Half-Blood! You do know about camp, don't you?” Tommy asks at the confusion on David's face. “Oh gods, you don't know?” Tommy gapes at him. “Where the hell were you going?”

 

“Uh, just … away. I guess.” David says and turns his head away. He didn't really have a plan. When he'd left home all he'd thought about was keeping his family safe. His own life, his future, acceptance letter to Harvard be damned, hadn't really played into it. Tommy gives him an unreadable look before smiling a him again.

 

“Don't worry, you'll fit right in.” he says. “We're miles away, but I know a shortcut.” he says and pats William's neck. David's brain puzzles the pieces together.

 

“You don't mean – you don't want me to – ”

“What? Ride there on William? He doesn't bite, I promise. Plus, shadowtravel is super fun.” Tommy beams at him.

 

“Shadowtravel?” David echoes. Nope, he's not cutting it in the eloquency department today.

 

“Yup. Come on, I'll show you!” Tommy grabs a fistful of William's fur, jumping on the hellhound's back in one gracious move. The hellhound gives a happy bark, loud enough to send David's head reeling again. Tommy extends his hand, looking down at David, green eyes glittering with excitement. David didn't like this, he didn't like it at all but then again – what did he have to loose except a lonely death in a dark forest?

 

He grabs Tommy's hand and with his free hand he takes a hold of William's fur. When he's settled behind Tommy, the other boy grabs both his arms and settles them around his narrow hips. David's breath hitches and he almost lets go before remembering, he's well above ground. His arms tighten their hold around Tommy. Warmth seeps through David's tattered clothes and he has to keep himself from doing something drastically stupid, like press himself up against Tommy and find out what his gorgeous hair felt like against David's battered cheek.

 

Turning around awkwardly to face him, Tommy throws him an awry smile.

 

“Remember when I said shadowtravel was fun?”

 

“Like three seconds ago? Dimly.” David deadpans and Tommy grins. “Yeah, that. Actually, it's not so much fun as it is horrifying and dangerous, but if you hold on tight and close your eyes, you'll totally be alright.”

 

“What?” David hears a voice about two octaves too high to be his own say.

 

“Okay, here we go!” Tommy yells, the excitement in his voice entirely unfitting for _horrifying and dangerous_ , as William trots, then runs towards the shadows cast by the trees surrounding them. David closes his eyes and hopes for the best.

 

**Author's Note:**

> Tell me what you think! I'm [here](http://cptcarol.tumblr.com/) on tumblr.


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